Researchers investigated whether enrollment in high school vocational/business courses had more holding power than personal, social factors, using High School and Beyond survey data to examine 12 variables. Peer interest, sense of social belonging, and relationships with school staff differentially related to persistence, but participation in…

This report, which is the eighth in a series, presents data for 1995 on high school dropout and retention rates, and examines high school completion and graduation rates. In addition to extending time series data from earlier reports, this report focuses on three specific subpopulations that are at particular risk of dropping out of school: (1)…

Student and institutional characteristics related to college freshman persistence were studied. Persistence was examined for 5 institutions (5,950 students) at 4 points in time: end of first term, reenrollment in the spring, end of spring term, and reenrollment in the fall of the sophomore year. Data from a variety of sources were used, and…

This document describes a study that examined several factors to determine their influence on student social bonding to school, to peers, and to teachers. The study focused on factors related to students' personal and social backgrounds, school organization, and students' relationships with teachers and peers. Specifically, the researchers sought…

This paper describes a proposed alternative public high school, the Metropolitan Corporate Academy, a joint project of private and public institutions including the New York City Public Schools and designed to serve at-risk students. An overview notes the high New York City dropout rate and the fragmented nature of most of the programs offered in…

The study described in this report examined the characteristics of eighth-grade students who were at risk of school failure. The study used data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, which is a large-scale, national longitudinal study begun in the spring of 1988 when 25,000 eighth graders attending public and private schools…

This handbook describes a high school dropout prevention program that integrates academic education, vocational education, and a support system in order to provide students with multiple options for their future careers and personal lives. The following information is provided: the program's philosophy; major components (vocational education,…

The Chapter 188 Dropout Prevention Grant Program funds school districts with high percentages of low-income students and school dropouts to enable them to implement dropout prevention initiatives in grades 7 through 12. The emphasis in funding is on long-term school change in school policy, curriculum, governance, scheduling, programming, support…

A model was developed at Arizona State University (ASU) to simulate the effect of President Reagan's proposed 1983 cuts in student financial aid in terms of programs and student credit hour load. The model allows administrators to simulate the impact on various student groups. The analysis involved 3,141 full-time undergraduates with financial aid…

This report presents nine steps, followed by work plans, for administrators when implementing a dropout prevention initiative. These nine steps are: (1) conduct a needs assessment to establish a database that identifies students who leave school early; (2) draft descriptors that identify elementary students who are at risk of dropping out later;…

This report evaluates the special education component of the 1986-87 Attendance Improvement/Dropout Prevention program of the New York City Board of Education. The program was designed to provide intensive services to special education students at risk of dropping out of school. The report presents characteristics of students in the program,…

The Peninsula Academies program operates two schools within schools, the electronics academy and the computer academy, in a three-year high school program for disadvantaged students labeled as potential dropouts in San Mateo County, California. A review of the performance of the Peninsula Academies program during its second year of operation…

Ohio's Occupational Work Adjustment (OWA) program is a one- to two-year ungraded vocational program for fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds who have been identified as potential dropouts from the regular educational program. Begun on a pilot basis in 1967, OWA served over 80,000 students in 499 programs during the 1981-82 school year. The goal of OWA,…

Issues pertaining to the application of educational technology in higher education are considered. Educational technology has been applied successfully in reaching the geographically remote in several jurisdictions, including Canada, and it has been important in giving adults a second chance at a university education. Claims have been made that it…

THE HOMEWORK HELPER PROGRAM INVOLVES APPROXIMATELY 250 ACADEMICALLY SUPERIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO ARE TUTORING APPROXIMATELY 600 FOURTH- AND FIFTH-GRADE RETARDED READERS. THE PURPOSES ARE TO PROVIDE MODELS SO THAT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN CAN IDENTIFY WITH SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS, TO GIVE THE CHILDREN HELP WITH BASIC SKILLS, TO ENCOURAGE…